


first day of my life | carl grimes

by kardiovas22



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: "Major" character death, BadassTurnedMotherFigure!Maggie, CaringMom!Michonne, F/M, Lots of Angst, Protector!Jesus, SeriousDad!Rick, Some Fluff, Spoilers, carl's grown up, watch season seven and eight before reading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 23:03:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12736101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kardiovas22/pseuds/kardiovas22
Summary: “Scar.”Her breath hitched at her given name, her sugar brown eyes glazed over as she continued to look on, but she addressed him. “Yes?”Her voice was barely above a whisper, he noticed a stark contrast to her usual behavior. He tried to ignore it -- just the way she likes -- and continued talking to her as if he hasn’t seen what’s standing right in front of them. “I’m going to need your help looking after Maggie,” he paused momentarily, his hand gesturing towards the crying woman they were practically dragging inside Barrington House.Her eyes never left her figure even as she was carried through the doorway, her cries muffled by the thick walls.She recognized them instantly.His death meant something to her -- brother, close friend... boyfriend or husband maybe? She wasn’t sure.But she just knew. She could recognize it in anyone.“Can you do that for me?” He asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts as he shifted so he was now standing in front of her. She blinked once, then twice, before turning away from the now closed door, meeting his eyes for the first time since they began speaking.“Yes.”





	1. Season 7 Episode 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first official work on here so it might take me a while to get used to things. thanks for your patience though :)

_The sun was aggravatingly hot that day, she remembered. She awoke with a thick layer of sweat covering her forehead and chest, all the way to the insides of her bare legs. It had been a late night, sleep not coming to her until the early hours of the morning, and now the mid-morning sun shining through the windows served as her annoying, post-apocalyptic alarm._

 

_She glanced at the window briefly, a scowl forming on her face as she saw the bright blue sky through the open curtains, disrupting her slumber. The thin sheet was thrown off her body in an instant as she rubbed her eyes of sleep, trailing her hot fingers across her face to get rid of the excess moisture._

 

_She hated the southern sun._

 

_Her mind wandered as she was still waking up, and it quickly turned to thoughts of her “roommate”. Looking towards the couch across the small room, she wasn’t very surprised to find it empty, but even then she always found herself checking for him. It was the same thing every morning._

 

_With a small grunt, she pushed herself off the bed, her bare feet padding across the contrastingly cool floor as she began searching for what would be her next meal. Opening the small storage within their home, she was able to see just how little supplies they were running on._

 

_He probably left her to go look for some more, that’s all._

 

_But why not take her with him? Why leave her here when she can help him?_

 

_Her mind betrayed her with those thoughts again, despite how hard she tried to stop them. It didn’t matter in the end. She pushed them aside quickly as she grabbed what was left of the crackers they had, shoving one greedily into her mouth before she closed the door._

 

_Her hair was quickly put up in a bun as she walked towards the bed, kneeling down to retrieve the small chest reserved just for her. Opening it, she pulled out the clothes that were sitting on top -- her army green tee and cargo pants -- before shutting the lid quickly and pushing it back into place._

 

_She changed quickly, pulling on her clothes for the day before grabbing her weapons belt from its designated place under her pillow. Securing it around her waist, she grabbed the crackers from their place and headed for the door._

 

_The air outside was just as suffocatingly hot as she had thought. She instantly began to sweat as she sat on the step, pulling on her mud-caked boots in two quick motions. She hated working in the_   
_heat, she always has, but she had to if she wanted to eat something other than the crackers she currently had on her._

 

_They needed help in the garden, so she would often find herself collected with some of the other women in their small community, tending to the crops while listening to their chatter about what’s going on in their lives._

 

_It was so boring and mundane, but she managed to get through without saying a word._

 

_Secretly, she hated when he would leave her here to fend for herself against their close-knit ranks. She wished more than anything to go with the only family she really had on high-risk adventures out in the world, but he always found a way to convince her to stay._

 

_There was always a reason where he was concerned._

 

_Swimming in her growing frustration and self-pity, she began walking towards Barrington House with heavy steps, already dreading the day of work that was to come. In that moment, she would’ve given anything to not spend the day under the agonizing heat of the sun._

 

_“Open the gate! Quick!”_

 

_A couple of people rushed past her as soon as they heard the shout, causing her to turn around towards the gate. They opened it moments later, revealing the reason behind its opening: a group of strangers._

 

_Her hand found her weapon before she could blink, her slender fingers wrapping around the worn handle as she began walking towards the open gate._

 

_She had never seen this group before, yet the people of Hilltop seemed to be welcoming them amongst their midst without caution. Her brow furrowed as she continued to watch carefully, the group moving together as if part of the same body until she heard something that she hadn’t heard in a long time._

 

_A woman within the group was releasing body-shaking, heavy, hysterical sobs._

 

_Her fingers loosened around her weapon as she noticed Jesus had approached the group, talking amongst them. She could feel herself visibly relax as it suddenly hit her that he hadn’t left her, he was home the entire time, and at the right time for this group’s arrival._

 

_More of the Hilltop community began gathering around the group, as she could no longer see Jesus among them. She saw Doctor Carson emerge from Barrington House with Gregory hot on his heels, the older man trying to gain the attention of the doctor but to no avail._

 

_She could hardly be bothered to pay attention to Gregory as she instead focused on the wailing woman. She had dropped to the ground now, her cries completely consuming her. As she walked closer, she could see her body visibly trembling even under the harsh sun._

 

_Something was very wrong._

 

_Her eyes flickered towards the other members of the group as she could finally see what was wrong -- they carried two of the dead among them, but their heads were almost completely gone._

 

_It was as if she were experiencing everything outside of her body as she stood completely rigid, looking on. She was no longer aware of the heat as her body seemed to turn cold, leaving her own hands trembling uncontrollably. However, she couldn’t bring herself to look away. She watched as they handled these dead men with care, each separate little group being attentive to make sure that no part of their body made contact with the ground, or even slipped past the height of their waists._

 

_Most importantly, she examined the mortal wound, the fatal blows delivered to their devastatingly vulnerable skulls. Only one conclusion could be made because only one group of people were known to be so violent and sadistic as to cause these men to face this traumatic end to their lives._

 

_This was the work of Negan and his Saviors._

 

_She stood like that, frozen in fear, that she hardly noticed the man walking up to her until he placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped; his touch, although soft, startled her as she was transfixed on the dead among them. “It’s just me.”_

 

_She angled her body towards his subconsciously, his presence simply demanding her attention as he managed to comfort her like no one else could. Her relationship with Jesus is what keeps her sane in this mad world, especially during times like these. Still, she only addressed him with a brief glance in his direction before looking back towards the group, towards the dead._

 

_She knows who they are now._

 

_She’s heard a lot about their group since Jesus had first encountered them, however, she always imagined them to look different than what she saw before her. The group of Rick Grimes was not a group you would want to mess with, Jesus would say, which only naturally became a problem with the Saviors. His group wanted to fight, and Negan had to show them their place as the human subordinates who serve his mighty, superior people. And the only way Negan knows how to do this is by killing._

 

_That man’s thirst for blood is insatiable._

 

_She got lost in her own head again, that much he could tell as he watched her stare off into space. They were now trying to figure out what to do with the dead bodies of Abraham and Glenn as_ _Gregory retreated within the walls of Barrington House after losing his fight with Doctor Carson. Maggie was in serious need of medical help, and the good Doctor Carson wasn’t going to let a man like Gregory kill two innocent lives by stopping him from doing his job._

 

_He knew Gregory would be a problem the moment he understood the gravity of the situation, which is why he needed the help of the teenage girl standing before him. He tried his best to ignore Doctor Carson trying to guide Maggie inside the house, away from her now deceased husband’s body, and instead focused on her._

 

_“Scar.”_

 

_Her breath hitched at her given name, her sugar brown eyes glazed over as she continued to look_ on; but _she addressed him. “Yes?”_

 

_Her voice was barely above a whisper, he noticed a stark contrast to her usual behavior. He tried to ignore it -- just the way she likes -- and continued talking to her as if he hasn’t seen what’s standing right in front of them. “I’m going to need your help looking after Maggie,” he paused momentarily, his hand gesturing towards the crying woman they were practically dragging inside Barrington House._

 

_Her eyes never left her figure even as she was carried through the doorway, her cries muffled by the thick walls._

 

_She recognized them instantly._

 

_His death meant something to her -- brother, close friend... boyfriend or husband maybe? She wasn’t sure._

 

_But she just knew. She could recognize it in anyone._

 

_“Can you do that for me?” He asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts as he shifted so he was now standing in front of her. She blinked once, then twice, before turning away from the now closed door, meeting his eyes for the first time since they began speaking._

 

_“Yes.”_

**____________________** _  
_

_She wasn’t sure how long the other members of the group lingered, but she knew they stuck around long enough for her to learn their names. They all stood around the foyer of Barrington House, but they seemed to stick to the edges, their eyes scanning every inch of the room at all times, as well as each other._

 

_It was unsettling, to say the least, but she understood._

 

_She stuck to the back, away from sight, as she watched their silent interactions; and, based on their descriptions, she began to learn more about who they are._

 

_Rick Grimes was the easiest to spot out of them all. They all seemed to surround him, following him wherever he went. He stood the tallest of them all, and often times she would find them all looking to him in the silence of the room -- and he always seemed to be looking back, giving them an answer._

 

_Michonne stood a couple of feet away, but never too far as to be out of his reach, if necessary. Her body remained angled towards the leader, responding to his silent yet strong aura. The fingers on her right hand continuously tapped the side of her hip, almost as if by reflex, causing Scar’s mind to wander to the spot on her hip. Her own hand traveled to her weapon as she watched, her body tensing as she could only imagine what the great warrior was thinking right now._

 

_Quickly glancing away before it could escalate, she spotted a silent Rosita staring outside of the window as a cowering Eugene stood far too close to her. She grimaced, her eyes straying from him to her. She could tell she was strong, she could tell she was tough, but one thing she definitely knew was that she was hurting. Her red-rimmed eyes were slightly puffy, as she continued to stare into nothing, that faraway look in her eyes all too familiar to the teenage girl._

 

_Aaron was the only member of the group not standing still. He was slowly walking circles around the room, his heavy footsteps resonating off of the walls. Her eyes followed his movements as he seemed continuously torn between crossing his arms or allowing them to hang limply at his sides. As he completed another turn around the room, her eyes landed on the next person in the room._

 

_Sasha’s eyes remained trained on the door that Maggie disappeared through, unmoving. Her stance, her pose, her posture -- everything about her screamed a woman on a mission, and Scar already knew that she was one of the most loyal and dedicated people in their group._

 

_Finally, standing to Rick’s right was Carl, the legendary son of the legendary leader. Known for wearing his father’s old Sheriff’s hat wherever he goes, he wasn’t very hard to spot amongst them. He stood with his back against the wall, his expression completely devoid of emotion as he simply stared straight ahead._

 

_She had never seen someone express so little during such an emotional time, but then again, what else was there to expect during the end of the world._

 

_“You can go say hi if you want, they don’t bite.”_

 

_She turned towards the sound of his voice, her eyes rolling on their own accord as soon as she saw Jesus’s teasing smile._

 

_“No thanks, I’m good,” she mumbled, her words holding a tone of finality as she looked back towards the group. She heard him sigh from behind her, his large hand suddenly falling on to her shoulder before giving it a light squeeze._

 

_Using their time alone, she turned to him before speaking as quietly as she could. “Is it true? Is Maggie really pregnant?”_

 

_His question would have struck him as odd if he didn’t know her so well, so instead, he pulled her into his side using the hand secured on her shoulder to hold her tightly and spoke, “Yeah, she is. She’s going to be raising a baby in this world alone -- without Glenn.”_

 

_“Glenn?” She questioned quietly, allowing herself to relax in his embrace._

 

_“Yeah, he was Maggie’s husband.”_

 

_“So he...?” Her voice broke a little as she suddenly felt a weight upon her chest. Her mind raced over Maggie and her unborn child, having to live their lives without their husband and father because of Negan._

 

_“Yeah,” he replied sullenly, “he was one of them.”_

 

_There was only silence after he replied as she continued to think. She knows loss, just like everyone else that’s left in this world. But still, she couldn’t help but feel her heart break a little more every single time she encounters it._

 

_Oddly enough, it helps to remind her that she’s still alive._


	2. Season 7 Episode 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hilltop is attacked in the middle of the night, causing the community to act quickly. Some bonding ensues as a new person arrives at the colony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is significantly longer than chapter one, so please enjoy. things will be moving out of third person pov soon :)

_It was strange, staying in Barrington House, that much she was sure of. The little trailer she called her home for months now was now being offered to Maggie and Sasha during their stay here. She didn’t mind, mainly because Jesus was still here, but she didn’t like being around Gregory all that much. She saw the way he looked at her from time to time._

 

_Her eyes traveled out the window to the darkening sky. If she looked just hard enough, she was able to spot the millions of tiny stars scattered throughout the night, all of them seeming to surround the perfectly round moon._

 

_She sighed, curling up under the thicker sheets. She wasn’t used to living in this kind of luxury, she would say, but it wasn’t half bad. Secretly, she knew it was going to be hard going back to her old mattress after sleeping on this one, despite the level of comfort she felt within her home._

 

_Maybe she could switch them out..._

 

_No, it wasn’t worth it._

 

_Her eyes traveled towards his still figure, sprawled out on the small cot they dragged into the room. He hardly seemed as awake as she was, but that always seemed to be the case._

 

_She turned so she was now facing the wall, her eyes studying every dip and crevice within the rough surface as she tried her best to lull herself to sleep. Even when she closed her eyes, her mind continuously relayed a show of pictures behind her eyelids to entertain her._

 

_It was in this state where she first heard it. The unmistakable sound of feedback from speakers_ broke _the silence, irritatingly_ loud _before the haunting sounds of an orchestra began playing through the night. She shot up from where she lay so she was now sitting up in bed looking towards the window before turning to where Jesus lay._

 

_He was now sitting upright as well, looking to Scar momentarily before rushing to the window. She heard footsteps coming from down the hall and instantly followed after Jesus, trying to_ _peek around_ _his taller frame to see out into the yard._

 

_“What the hell is going on?” She whispered, her eyes instantly spotting the eerie orange light in the darkness._

 

_“_ _I don’t know,” he spoke quietly, using his hands to force the window open before climbing through. A couple of the other guys inside the house followed behind them as she quickly grabbed her boots and weapons_ _sitting by_ _the bed and crawled outside. As soon as her feet found the balcony, she immediately saw what Jesus was looking at earlier._

 

_The unmistakable orange light was actually many small fires lit throughout the yard as a mysterious green car seemed to be the source of the music. However, that’s not what she was focusing on._  
 _The gate was open, the night guards strung from their posts by rope as the fire and music_ were _attracting the dead ones from outside._

 

_“_ _Jesus!” She heard the shout, as she quickly turned to her left to see Maggie standing on the roof of the trailer. “Sasha’s alone down there! She needs help!”_

 

_“Sasha?” She whispered to him, her eyes quickly turning to the yard before she finally spotted her running through the dark. She wasn’t thinking at this point as she pulled on her shoes in two fluid motions. Her reaction was almost as instantaneous and reflexive as Jesus’s, her feet now quickly bringing her towards the large pillar at the corner of the balcony that will help bring her down to the ground._

 

_“Scar,” Jesus stopped her, placing a hand on her arm before beginning to turn towards the pillar. He didn’t have to say anything, she knew what he meant. Without a second_ _thought_ _, she gripped his arm, turning him so he was now facing her._

 

_“Stay? Really? You need all the help you can get,” She said to him, completely unbelieving of his command. He hesitated then, and that's all she needed. She used this time to walk over to the edge and push herself over the railing of the balcony, her arms wrapping around the length of the long pillar as she slid down._

 

_Looking out at the yard, the group of dead ones has grown in number, her eyes zeroing in instantly on the bodies all around her... hungry yet completely lifeless. She could feel her pulse quickening as they seemed to just keep coming and coming, the blood pulsing freely and_ _wildly through_ _her veins as she could see the edges of her vision blurring. With her eyes lit ablaze, she instantly recognized the feeling swarming in her chest and chose to live within it; this is what it feels like to be alive._

 

_All of a sudden, she felt a large hand grasp her shoulder tightly, and her reflexes kicked in. She took her knife out of its holder and went to strike, only a hand caught her wrist in record time, stopping the blade only inches from his face._

 

_“_ _Jesus!” She hissed, her eyes darting around the yard frantically before turning her back to him. Her heart was pounding rapidly then, but for all the wrong reasons. He could've died -- she could’ve killed him. She tensed up at the realization as she waited for him to say something in the midst of all the chaos, but he surprised her._

 

 

_“I know you can do it, I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”_

 

_With a small nudge from him and his signature smile, they begin making their way through the herd, striking the heads of the dead to keep them from attacking the community. The heat from the fires caused the sweat to build_ _up on_ _her face and chest, each killer blow causing a strain on her muscles that the heat merely intensified._

 

_She grabbed one by the collar of its worn shirt, driving her knife_ _into_ _the back of its rotting skull with a sickeningly satisfying squelch. Its body dropped to the ground, completely lifeless, only for another to come in its place._

 

_One after the other, she dodged and struck, each fatal blow coming more and more easily than the last. And with it, she could feel everything she had packaged up into the dark recesses of her mind resurface._

 

_She was free._

 

_She couldn’t see anything but what was right in front of her -- a herd of walkers that needed to be cleared out of her home. That was the job, that was what she had to do. She was so focused on her battle, that she almost failed to hear the roaring of an engine coming to life:_

 

_Almost._

 

_She drove the knife into the dead one’s skull, kicking at its chest to push it away from her as she turned towards the source of the sound. All she saw was the hulking, “Jolly Green” monster before her, and its driver was none other than Maggie Rhee._

 

_Leave it to Maggie to find a way how to help without disobeying Dr. Carson’s orders._

 

_She moved out of the way without not so much as a second thought, her eyes shining_ _brightly_ _as she smiled for what has been the first time in ages._

 

_‘Maggie Rhee is badass.’_

 

_“_ _Scar!” She broke out of her thoughts as her eyes searched the yard before she finally saw Jesus. His attention was on her for only a moment before he was grabbing the dead one in front of him by its hair and driving the knife through the soft flesh under its jaw._

 

 

_Looking back towards the gate, they were still walking through, attracted to the fires. She understood immediately, running over towards where Sasha and Jesus were fighting the living dead and began taking them out; and in the midst of it all, she finally knew what she had to do._

 

_**____________________**   
_

 

_She couldn’t sleep_ _afterward_ _. The adrenaline pumping through her veins_ _was at_ _its peak,_ _and with it came insomnia_ _. Long after the other warriors -- even Maggie, Sasha, and Jesus went to sleep, she was incapable of even closing her eyes for longer than the necessary blink._

 

_So she needed to do something._

 

_The chores for the next day were then started within the early hours of the morning, long before the sun would wake up. The number of bodies within the yard was high, so she threw on some old clothes and got to work._

 

_With the moon as her only companion, she grabbed onto their legs and began dragging them towards the broken gates, hoping to have them all piled high in the designated area to burn them by the time the sun would rise. The guards, however, weren’t having any of it as they put up one hell of a fight when she wanted to leave. They should’ve known she wasn’t going to take no for an answer._

 

_“It has to be done -- you know it, so why not just let me do it now?!” She shouted up at the two guards, her hands now falling to her hips as she dropped the dead one’s legs._

 

_“Wait until the morning, Scar,” a boy hardly older than her by the name of Mike shouted back down at her, a small smirk pulling at his lips. “Besides, Jesus would kill us if we let you go out there alone.”_

 

_Her blood began to boil as she glared up at him, her mind already producing images of how she could deliver his slow, torturous death. Mike was the guy she hated from day one, simply because they all chose to see his_ _potential over_ _her own obvious experience and skill._

 

_I_ _t’s because he’s the “strong” male, while she’s the “weak” female._

 

_She was so blinded by her rage, and he his smug attitude, that they failed to notice the spectator of their little disagreement._

 

_“Hey.” Her shout caught the attention of all three of them as her boots crunched against the rocks strewn about the yard. “Open the gate and let us out.”_

 

_Sasha sent her own icy glare up at the two guards, her jaw set tightly in place. She saw Mike’s own jaw clench, but Scar could see straight through his facade: Sasha scared him. With reluctance embedded deep within his bones, he motioned towards his guard friend to help him open the gate, setting the two free._

 

_“Lift on three,” Sasha_ _signaled_ _to Scar, nodding in the direction of the dead one at her feet. She responded with her own as she grabbed it under its arms, waiting for Sasha to grip its legs._

 

_“One, two...” she counted off. They grunted as they lifted and began carrying the limp body out of the safety of the community. It was silent as they did so, the only sounds to be heard were their heavy breaths as they walked through the_ _countryside_ _and the slight jingling of the chain around her neck. The darkness made it slightly harder to navigate the dense foliage, but she’s_ _had_ _practice -- they both did._

 

_After a few minutes of walking, they made it to the designated burning spot as the lush grass slowly died to burnt crisps under their feet. As soon as they reached the center of the massive fire pit, they dropped the body, now stopping to catch their breath after their little trek. In the silence, she couldn’t help but look towards the teenage girl standing before her._

 

_Scar wasn’t much of a talker, that much she noticed. In the few days that she’s gotten to know her, she’s said a total of possibly ten words to her, and another twenty while she was around her._   
_But there was something she wanted to say._

 

_“Your fighting last night was incredible,” Sasha’s voice broke the silence, causing her brown eyes to meet her own. Scar shuffled slightly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stared at her. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”_

 

_Her comment caught her slightly off guard, she’ll admit that. When it comes to her past, Scar was never one to open up, but the question seemed relatively harmless so she chose to answer._   
_She didn’t say anything to her explicitly, but she did reach into her shirt, pulling out the chain pressed against her chest. Sasha looked at her, causing Scar to move closer so that she can see what she was holding on to, running her clammy fingers across the cool metal._

 

_“My dad.”_

 

  
______________________

 

_Word spread quickly about what happened the night before, and quickly the entire community was planning a little “thank you” gift for Sasha and Maggie for their quick help in defending the Hilltop._

 

_That is how Scar found herself outside of the walls of the Hilltop for the first time in what felt like months._

 

_Her limbs ached from exhaustion, but she felt like she could run in the brush for hours on end. This is what she missed from being on the outside, and the girl within her that was set free is reveling in the freedom she has been craving since she got to the Hilltop community._

 

_Her fingers skimmed the tips of the leaves as she walked, her mind relaying the information she needed in order to get to the coveted location of Ms. Maitlin’s prized wild berries for her preserves._   
_The sun beat down hot on her back, her bag swinging loosely back and forth as she walked further towards her destination. She could hear the faint growling sounds of the dead ones as she walked, but they were far enough away where she didn’t have to concern herself with them finding her and leading her astray from her job._

 

_But the wild soul inside of her craved for something more._

 

_She quickly cleared her head before she could do anything else, finding the bushes without a problem as she began gathering the berries into her bag one by one. She made sure to leave enough for the fruit to continue to grow, but Ms. Maitlin’s preserves were coveted within the community, so she had to hold back. She may, however, have snuck a couple of berries into her mouth while putting them back into her bag, her tongue savoring the taste of the tart fruit._

 

_Licking her lips and fingers of the juices, she gathered the last of the berries she needed within the safety of her bag before beginning to make her way towards the Hilltop once again._

 

_She could hear the dead ones much closer now on the way back, her hand now resting lightly on her knife, but she still refused to seek them out. She could feel a slight pounding in her head as she moved swiftly, without sound, but she tried her best to ignore it._

 

_She picked up on something which made her stop in her tracks, sending her body on high alert. She looked carefully around her surroundings, straining her ears to try and hear better. It was silent for a moment before she heard it again. Her suspicions were confirmed as she slowly began to move towards the sound._

 

      _It sounded like a couple of people were talking although their voices were muffled and quiet, she_ _didn’t recognize their voices._

 

_With every cautious step, she found herself getting closer and closer to them, and with every step she gripped her weapon so hard, the worn material may have been capable of drawing blood from her_ _palm._

 

_Then, she saw them._

 

_Their backs were facing her as they_ _stared_ _out towards the Hilltop -- towards her home. That’s not what struck her the most, however._

 

_She recognized one of them instantly, that damn Sheriff’s hat only belonging to one person she’s ever met in her entire life._

 

_Carl Grimes._

 

_Her hold on her weapon loosened at the familiar face, but she failed to recognize the girl with him. They stood huddled together, and they were speaking so low she could only hear snippets of their whispers when carried by the wind._

 

_“You want to kill them, too. We can do it,” he said, his voice finally rising to a point where she could hear their conversation. At those words, her blood went cold. I mean, surely he wasn’t talking about the people of Hilltop... right? Gregory maybe, that rotten man deserved what was coming for him, but the other people -- the good people of her community?_

 

_Her jaw seemed to lock shut as she scrutinized his every movement, specifically focusing on his right hand. One misstep and she’ll get him, for her people. She may complain about them from time to time, but they have been nothing but nice to her -- well, most of them anyway._

 

_Her eyes quickly widened as she caught them in the middle of their intimate moment, his lips locking with hers in a chaste kiss. Instantly she averted her gaze to his hand once again, focusing on the weapon clipped to his side, just in case._

 

_Then, she departed._

 

_The girl went one way, and Carl went the other as he disappeared among the trees. But the girl, she ran over towards the far side of the wall and began climbing along the outside to get inside. Her heartbeat sped up as she quickly took off after her without being seen, making it to the base of the wall as she disappeared over the top. In one jump, she grabbed hold of the main frame of the wall as high as she could before pulling herself up the rest of the way after her._

 

_As soon as she reached the top she spotted her walking along the outer wall as no one seemed to really notice_ _her_ _as if she were one of them. She could kill any of them, all of them even, if she wanted to and no one would see it coming because they were so oblivious._

 

      _Grunting, she climbed down from the wall about halfway before jumping the rest of the way, running after the girl before she could disappear within the community. She continued to run until she spotted her a little_ _ways up ahead, sitting on the ground as she watched the graves of the two dead men brought by Maggie and Sasha’s group to her home -- Abraham and Glenn._

 

_Her left hand grabbed her machete, careful not to disrupt the chain around her hips as she walked quietly towards her. As soon as she was close enough, she drew her weapon, holding it right in the girl’s face._

 

_She heard her audible gasp, her jade eyes widening as she backed up ever so slightly._

 

_“Don’t move,” Scar ground out, her face stoic as she stared down at her. She could feel her hands clamming up, but she tried her best to ignore it as she continued. “What are you doing here?”_

 

_The girl opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She quirked her brow at this, moving only inches closer_ _so_ _the blade was almost touching her nose, asserting her question. “What are you doing here?”_

 

_“I-I --”_

 

_“Enid, you’re here,” Maggie’s voice interrupted their little confrontation, and she watched as a look of relief washed over the girl’s features. She guessed her name was Enid. She turned slightly to look back towards the woman, scanning her features briefly before turning back to the girl._

 

_“Scar, there’s no need for that,” Maggie spoke softly, walking up as she gently placed a hand on her arm, forcing her to lower her weapon. “Enid’s a friend of mine from Alexandria.”_

 

_“Oh,” was all Scar said in response, placing her weapon back in its holder before taking a few steps back._

 

_“Are you okay?” The girl, Enid, asked Maggie, eyeing Scar briefly before getting up from her seat on the ground and grasping Maggie’s hands in her own._

 

_“I’m not,” Maggie whispered, her eyes leaving Enid’s in order to look towards the grave of her late husband. She stepped around him, walking towards it, which is when Scar finally realized the two green balloons sitting on Abraham’s grave. “But I will be.”_

 

_Maggie turned to face Enid once again, managing a small smile before she moved towards Enid and gave her a hug. Again, Scar felt as though she were intruding on an intimate moment between people who really love each other. She shuffled her feet, kicking the dirt on the ground as she was suddenly unsure of what to do._

 

_Should she leave? Or should she stay?_

 

_Maggie looked up towards her then, as if sensing her unrest, and smiled slightly. She pulled away from Enid and turned towards the both of them, gesturing towards her. “Enid, this is Scar. She’s helped take care of Sasha and I while we’ve been staying here.”_

 

_Enid turned to Scar, smiling softly, “Nice to meet you.”_

 

_“I’m sorry,” Scar suddenly blurted out, unable to stop herself. “For scaring you with my machete.”_

 

_She looked down at her weapons then, playing with the handles as they stood there in silence. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to happen, but when she looked up, she caught Enid watching her weapon as well, almost as if she were admiring it. “I guess it’s a lot cooler when it’s not pointed at your face.”_

 

_Enid laughed at this, a light, airy_ _laugh_ _before she nodded. “It’s beautiful.”_

 

_“How’d you find her anyway? With the Saviors running around here, I’m surprised you managed to spot her,” Maggie cut in, looking towards Scar for an answer before turning to Enid as well. “Did you come alone, Enid?” Scar froze at her words, unaware of the surprise visit the Saviors paid the Hilltop today. Was she really so caught up in Enid that she failed to see them?_

 

_She looked towards Enid then, only to see her quietly shaking her head at her. She wasn’t exactly sure what_ _for_ _until she remembered the reason why she even found her in the first place -- she was with Carl._

 

_“Ms. Maitlin asked me to get some berries for her to bake with, and while I was out I spotted Enid walking towards home. I ended up following her all the way here,” Scar lied, shrugging slightly. “Since she didn’t use the gate and I didn’t recognize her, I thought she was an invader, but now I know why.”_

 

_Maggie turned to Enid then, giving her another hug before sighing softly. “Come on, they’re gone now. We can go get you something to eat -- both of you.”_

 

_Scar nodded, allowing Maggie to lead the way as she quietly followed. Enid, however, quickly fell into step beside Scar, looking over at her._

 

_“Thank you,” she whispered, “for not telling Maggie about Carl.”_

 

_Scar shrugged then, trying to hide the small smile that threatened to appear on her lips but failed. It’s been a while since she had someone her age to talk to, let alone share a secret with._


End file.
